OK, Smarty Pants. What single athletic event do you think brings the most participants to McCook on an annual basis?

Do you think it's district track? District basketball? district volleyball? A stock car race? The Mullen Pro-Am Golf Tournament? The Larry Samway Fishing Derby and Casting Contest at Hugh Butler Lake?

All are notable events which are great for the local economy, but from the standpoint of participant numbers, they all trail the McCook High School Invitational Cross Country meet.

The running competition -- which takes place annually over the back nine holes of Heritage Hills Golf Course -- brings between 300 and 400 cross-country competitors to the McCook community each September. This year's meet, which took place Thursday, drew a turnout of 361 runners from 21 Nebraska and Kansas schools.

Both boys and girls and junior high and senior high runners take part. For the participants and fans, the meet is a love-hate relationship.

Most of the runners hate it. That's because of the steep hills and deep valleys of Heritage Hills' back nine. "It's one of the toughest -- if not the toughest -- course they run all year," said McCook cross country coach Tom Sughroue. "Most courses are flatter. But, at Heritage Hills, the runners' en-durance is tested to the max when they attempt to negotiate the steep grades."

That's the hate part.

On the love side is the wonderful view coaches and spectators have of the competition. While standing on the practice range at Heritage Hills, parents, fans and coaches can see the running action unfold over the entire cross country course. At times, runners go out of view when they dip into a valley, but then they pop up again in the next hill. The view is so good that Russ Pankonin, co-publisher of the Imperial Republican newspaper, has suggested that the Heritage Hills course be selected as the site of the cross country state meet.

"Heritage Hills is like Kearney, where the state meet is held now," Coach Sughroue said. "I think McCook would be an excellent state meet site, but coaches fight it because of the difficulty."

Then, over and above all this, there are economic advantages to hosting McCook's annual cross country invitational. After Thursday's meet, I took a drive down U.S. 83 North and U.S. 6-34 West. Along the way, I spotted the Gothenburg Swedes bus at Pizza Hut-KFC-Taco Bell; the Sutherland Sailors bus at Wendy's; and the Dundy County-Stratton bus at Wal-Mart.

Now, you can bet, there were a bunch of dollars being spent for pizza, hamburgers, Cokes and candy bars.

Here's one last thing to think about. McCook, as a community, needs to do a better job of giving local citizens the heads-up about upcoming events. With a little warning, we could be better prepared to give the visitors a warm, friendly welcome.